Natural hazards, cyber attacks and infectious disease outbreaks can lead to devastating financial consequences that many individuals, households or businesses would struggle to absorb. Insurance can provide a critical source of funding to absorb losses and support recovery. However, evolving weather and environmental risks, fast-moving technological changes and other factors are testing the ability of private insurance markets to achieve broad financial protection against these risks.
This report aims to help governments strengthen financial resilience against catastrophic risks. It provides a framework to assess the need for government-supported financial protection and examines approaches to supporting insurance coverage for wildfires and floods in particular ? as two important and growing risks in many countries.